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Breakdown and Awards for WWE Extreme Rules 2016

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Who were the winners and losers coming out of WWE Extreme Rules 2016 PPV on Sunday 22nd May 2016 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, USA.

WWE's Extreme Rules PPV has been met with pretty positive reviews so far and rightly so

Despite only having three weeks of build since the last PPV, WWE have done pretty well to put on some excellent matches at Extreme Rules. Last night was full of exciting matches and even a returning Seth Rollins! One big problem of Extreme Rules however was that it wasn't very extreme. I think the Extreme Rules name is a bit outdated personally. WWE can't get very "Extreme" in a PG era so this gimmick PPV sets itself up for failure in a way. People expect there to be blood and are disappointed when there isn't any. If we're being honest, WWE would probably do well to get rid of gimmick PPV's entirely. Anyway, lets get straight into the breakdown and awards for WWE Extreme Rules 2016. [next]

MVP - Sami Zayn

There were plenty of candidates to win this award. Anyone in the Intercontinental title match could have got it, Roman Reigns and AJ styles both excelled last night but Zayn was superb. Ever since returning at the start of 2016 Sami Zayn has been on the up. He eliminated Kevin Owens in the Royal Rumble, he was arguably the star of the show in the ladder match at Wrestlemania and he put on the match of the night at Payback last month. Last night he continued his fine work as he flew out of the blocks with a Helluva kick to Kevin Owens. From there it only got better. A particularly favourite spot of mine was a sunset flip with Cesaro that got a 2.9 count. Everybody thought Sami had won. The finish also helped further the rivalry of Zayn and Owens when Sami lost the match because he was too focused on hurting Owens.

There is something about Sami Zayn that is akin to Daniel Bryan. Not only is he exceptional in the ring but he has that infectious bond with the audience. You can't help but cheer for him. Elsewhere in WWE Kalisto has been made to look like the underdog but Sami Zayn fills the role far better. His rivarly with Kevin Owens continues to grow. Hopefully we may get to the point where we see Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlmania. We can all dream. [next]

Match of the Night - Fatal-4-Way (Intercontinental Title)

This wasn't even close. Reigns vs Styles was very good but the Intercontinental title match had to take this. There were so many near falls and false finishes we were all on the edge of our seats. This match was full of great spots. The sunset flip with Zayn and Cesaro, the tower of doom, Kevin Owens with a frog splash to Miz who was on the ropes, everything about this match was awesome.

All four of the men in this match deserve credit. Each one of them held their own and should be applauded. There have been some very good matches on the main roster in WWE this year but this one is probably the best. Only Sami Zayn vs Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT Takeover: Dallas can top this one. The good thing about this is that there are plenty of routes that WWE can take this. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens could go off and do their thing. Do Cesaro and Miz still have beef? Could someone new get involved? AJ Styles could be free now... [next]

This match was just set up to fail. The Asylum match gimmick was a polarising one. Many people thought it had potential if done right while others thought it was a poorly conceived idea. Unfortunately the latter were proved right. It probably didn't help that this match went on after the red hot IC title match but this match just wasn't very good on it's own. The pacing felt slow, the spots were ridiculous and the crowd were just not interested. This match also went on far too long. Overall it was just a waste of 25 minutes that could've been done better. Something like a last man standing match would've better suited both men. Credit should go to Jericho for taking the spot on the thumbtacks but it didn't change the fact that this gimmick didn't work and we should never see it again.

It will be interesting to see where both men go from here. Ambrose has had his momentum shattered by this match while Jericho will most likely take another hiatus from WWE. Ambrose lost a lot from this match. Against Triple H and Brock Lesnar he gained some credibility back but this match has set him back yet again. [next]

Best Finish - Rusev vs. Kalisto (United States Championship)

Rusev is champion. Thank god for that. WWE have tried to book Kalisto as Rey Mysterio 2.0 in his title run and it has just been awful. Instead of making him look like an underdog they have simply made him look weak. The US title has lost a lot of credibility since John Cena dropped it at Hell In A Cell last year but Rusev should go some length to changing that. Rusev destroyed Kalisto at Extreme Rules. The match made Rusev look like a monster while Kalisto looked like he had no idea how to beat him.

All round the match was perfect. Rusev looked dominant but not to the extent where Kalisto didn't have chance at winning. Kalisto got in a large portion of offence but Rusev still overcame the smaller man. This is exactly how Roman Reigns matches should be booked. He looks dominant but not to the extent where nothing has any chance of keeping him down. [next]

Worst Finish - Charlotte vs. Natalya (Women's Championship)

Yet again the women are ruined by WWE having little faith in them finishing a match by themself. The match itself between Natalya and Charlotte was as you'd expect, very good. But WWE couldn't resist making this yet again about Ric Flair. All around the finish to this match was poor. Ric became the deciding factor in yet another WOMENS match while Natalya looked like an absolute chump for falling for the ruse.

WWE really need to cut ties between Ric and Charlotte's on screen relationship. Ric was good for the start of the Charlotte's heel run to help her learn the ropes but now he is become a huge hindrance to her credibility. People don't believe she can win the match by herself. She needs to start racking up some singles wins by herself if people are to take her seriously again. [next]

Biggest Anticlimax - The Usos vs. The Club

OK so this wasn't so much of an anticlimax as it was a disappointment. While we've seen this match far too many times already, this was a tornado tag match. There was opportunity to make this better than it was. Instead it only went on for about 13 minutes. Either way, these teams both need to move on to something else. Everyone is tired of seeing them in the same ring together. [next]

Overall winners
Roman Reigns and AJ Styles. Both men performed very admirably in their title match. The overly strong booking of Reigns to kick of not one but two Styles clashes is incredibly questionable to say the least but nevertheless, the match was excellent and only overshadowed on the night by the fatal-4-way match.

The Intercontinental and United States titles. I said that WWE needed to add more prestige to the secondary titles and they are doing just that. Rusev could potentially go on a dominant run as US champ while the IC title looks like a prize that everybody wants to win.

Overall losers
Dean Ambrose. Ambrose deserves a better hand than he's being dealt. His PPV record is shoddy and some people even think that WWE are deliberately sabotaging him as they fear his popularity may overshadow Roman Reigns. While it doubt this theory, they do need to sort out what they want from him and fast.